FFA members see agriculture in action

By Cassie Wandersee, Staff Writer

Chris Thompson, Field Marketer for MKC, explains
some of the products and services available
through the agronomy center at Groveland.

Forty students from Inman High School involved in Future Farmers of America (FFA) participated in an educational tour at the Groveland location in late February.

“I wanted my students to see that they live close to agriculture,” said Daniel Knapp, FFA advisor and Ag Instructor at Inman High School. He went on to comment that many of his students were not aware of the presence of the Groveland MKC location close to where they live.

Students were given a tour of the offices and had an opportunity to hear about each employee’s job responsibilities and their educational background.

Tara Struber, Billing Specialist at Groveland, shared with the students that she doesn’t have a background in agriculture; instead her education is based in business. She showed the students that the agriculture industry needs people with more than agriculture experience.

Ross Benisch, Precision Ag Specialist for MKC, comes from a background very much based in agriculture with a history of involvement in FFA. It was his involvement in FFA that began him on the career path to where he is today.

“I was on an FFA trip when I first saw mapping technology. It was seeing the technology that made me want to pursue a career in it and steered me to where I am now,” Benisch said.

Benisch was an FFA member in high school and still has a lot of respect for the organization.

“I like the idea of giving something back,” said Benisch of helping with the tour.

Dalton Queen, a sophomore at Inman High School, has been involved in FFA for three years. “I thought the Veris Rig was very cool,” he said.

Benisch had explained to the students how the Veris Rig utilizes a soil electrical conductivity (EC) meter, pH electrodes as well as a GPS system to map out (down to the foot) the specific soil type, elevation and pH levels in a field. This information is combined into a field prescription that can then be applied at a variable rate, increasing the amount of revenue per acre. 

“It’s amazing how with technology now everything is done by computer,” Queen went on to say. Another student commented that he wished he had the same technology on his family farm.

 

Precision agriculture is one area that MKC is actively working to educate the next generation of farmers through outreach programs like the FFA facility visit.

“A good number of my students are looking to an agricultural field or going home to farm,” said Knapp. “Agriculture is everywhere and we’re always going to have people to feed.  There is a need for farming and the kids got a better idea of that on the tour.”